Author Topic: Stories & Opinions Worth Knowing but Maybe Not Quite Threadworthy 9/4  (Read 935 times)

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Offline Eupher

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New York City will be using police drones on Labor Day to make sure the peasants aren't holding large parties in their backyards

https://notthebee.com/article/new-york-city-will-be-using-police-drones-on-labor-day-to-make-sure-the-peasants-arent-holding-large-parties-in-their-backyards

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I'm surprised to learn that there are still backyards in New York City.

I'm not surprised to learn that the city is going to be monitoring those backyards for regime compliance.

That's just standard New York City right there:

Those attending outdoor parties or barbecues in New York City this weekend may notice an uninvited guest looming over their festivities: a police surveillance drone.

The New York City police department plans to pilot the unmanned aircrafts in response to complaints about large gatherings, including private events, over Labor Day weekend, officials announced Thursday.

I don't know how you define a "large gathering" in a city of eight million people. There's people everywhere. Anytime you go out to get a roll of paper towels you're part of a "large gathering."

The police say they'll only respond in instances where a resident reports "a large party in a backyard." Which, again, what does that mean? Is there a size limit here?

And are they adjusting for the fact that any backyards in New York are going to be postage-stamp-sized and that even a small gathering would almost by definition appear "large" to begin with? Small spaces tend to do that!


New Yorkers: Have fun with the police state!

I can well imagine Eric Adams calling out SWAT units to stage pre-dawn raids. Maybe, with luck, he'll run out of jail space.
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Offline Eupher

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Re: Stories & Opinions Worth Knowing but Maybe Not Quite Threadworthy 9/4
« Reply #1 on: September 04, 2023, 03:35:41 AM »
Biden triggers hefty pay raise for federal workers

https://rollcall.com/2023/08/31/biden-triggers-hefty-pay-raise-for-federal-workers/


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President Joe Biden submitted the paperwork to move forward with what averages out to a 5.2 percent federal pay increase next year.

The president notified Congress of his intent to implement a previously announced alternative pay schedule for many federal civilian workers in 2024, in line with his budget request earlier this year.

"Specifically, I have determined that for 2024, the across-the-board base pay increase will be 4.7 percent and locality pay increases will average 0.5 percent, resulting in an overall average increase of 5.2 percent for civilian Federal employees, consistent with the assumption in my 2024 Budget," Biden wrote in letters to Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Vice President Kamala Harris Thursday.

The deadline for presidents to signal the following year's intended compensation adjustment is the end of August. Following that letter, the president must issue an executive order by the end of December implementing the raise. If those steps aren't taken, raises can skyrocket under an alternative locality pay formula.

If it isn't blocked or altered by Congress through the appropriations process, the pay raise would be the largest since 1981, when President Jimmy Carter authorized a 9.1 percent raise during that period of high inflation.

The last consumer price index reading before Carter's August 1980 order, when he was in the throes of a tough campaign against Ronald Reagan, showed prices had risen 14.3 percent on average over the prior year.

Inflation recently has been on a downswing, declining from 9.1 percent in June 2022 to 3 percent in June 2023, though it turned up again slightly in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Federal salaries are allocated in multiple buckets, with base pay applying across the board and additional pay generally provided based on the cost of living in the location of the job.

"We must attract, recruit, and retain a skilled workforce with fair compensation in order to keep our Government running, deliver services, and meet our Nation’s challenges today and tomorrow," Biden wrote. "This alternative pay plan decision will continue to allow the Federal Government to employ a well‑qualified Federal workforce on behalf of the American people, keeping pace with prior wage growth in the labor market."

The largest employer in the U.S. - the federal government - just got bigger.
Adams E2 Euphonium, built in 2017
Boosey & Co. Imperial Euphonium, built in 1941
Edwards B454 bass trombone, built 2012
Bach Stradivarius 42OG tenor trombone, built 1992
Kanstul 33-T BBb tuba, built 2011
Fender Precision Bass Guitar, built ?
Mouthpiece data provided on request.

Offline Eupher

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Re: Stories & Opinions Worth Knowing but Maybe Not Quite Threadworthy 9/4
« Reply #2 on: September 04, 2023, 03:42:19 AM »
Nation Torn Between Being Mad Biden Never Shows Up For Work And Being Glad He Never Shows Up For Work

https://babylonbee.com/news/nation-torn-between-being-mad-biden-never-shows-up-for-work-and-being-glad-he-never-shows-up-for-work

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U.S. — As the United States enters the 33rd month of Joe Biden's presidency, the American people expressed conflicted feelings, with most people torn between being angry the president never shows up for work and being relieved he never shows up for work.

"I'm not sure which one is worse," said concerned citizen Cliff Martin. "I mean, on one hand, it's an outrage that the leader of the United States spends so much of his time on vacation — while parts of the country literally get burned or flooded — but on the other hand, it might actually be a lot worse if he showed up to work more regularly. Either way, I wish I could afford food. That would be nice."

Though some segments of the public have voiced anger over the fact that President Biden has spent an astounding 40% of his time in office on vacation, others point to the unmitigated havoc he has managed to wreak while reporting to work just over half the time. "Can you imagine the damage he would do if he spent less time on vacation?" asked commercial driver Ryan Kitchen. "How high would gas prices be? How many people would be unemployed? How many more proxy wars would we be involved in? Think of the carnage! The thought of him taking fewer days off keeps me awake at night."

At publishing time, sources within the White House had given assurances that there are currently no plans in place for Joe Biden to begin spending any more time actually performing any of the duties expected of a president.

This is one of those Bee pieces that really isn't far from the truth. Except one thing -- SharterJoe doesn't actually do anything. His handlers do it all, give him his orders, and try to keep him leashed up.

Adams E2 Euphonium, built in 2017
Boosey & Co. Imperial Euphonium, built in 1941
Edwards B454 bass trombone, built 2012
Bach Stradivarius 42OG tenor trombone, built 1992
Kanstul 33-T BBb tuba, built 2011
Fender Precision Bass Guitar, built ?
Mouthpiece data provided on request.

Offline Eupher

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Re: Stories & Opinions Worth Knowing but Maybe Not Quite Threadworthy 9/4
« Reply #3 on: September 04, 2023, 04:23:28 AM »
MAGA vs. the DoJ

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/09/maga_vs_the_doj.html

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Along with all its other efforts to hamstring Donald Trump’s legal defense in the D.C. case, the DoJ has dumped 12.8 million documents on Trump’s defense team, leaving them without adequate time to prepare before the March court date. This is unlikely to earn them much consideration from Judge Tanya Chutkan, who has exhibited open hostility to Donald Trump.

This appears to be a new tactic developed by prosecutors to cripple defense efforts while remaining within the letter of the law. On August 25, prosecutors dumped over 4 million documents on the defense team of accused cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried while at the same time making it next to impossible for him to actually view them. (Bankman-Fried is being held at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, which has no facilities for accessing the documents.)

The solution for Trump’s team is simple: utilize his vast personal following as a crowdsourcing resource to analyze and sort out the documents.

Crowdsourcing of this type has been used for many years as a means of preliminary scientific analysis to collate the vast amount of data produced by modern scientific research (commonly called the “data deluge’). Since 2007, the Galaxy Zoo has utilized large numbers of ordinary citizens to examine and classify photos of astronomical objects in photos taken by the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes. The program has been so successful it has been expanded into other scientific disciplines as the “Zooniverse.”  This system was made possible only by the existence of the internet.

The same methods can be used to examine and classify the Jack Smith document dump. Volunteers would receive emails with a limited number – say, a couple hundred – documents attached. The volunteers would read the documents carefully, and on an attached form give a brief two or three sentence description, along with a rating on its importance and relevance.


Each document would be sent to several volunteers so as to provide confirmation and weed out irrelevant, useless, or repetitive documents (of which there will be myriads – the entire point of this exercise by Smith’s office, after all, is to create as many obstacles as possible.)

The goal here would be to reduce an unwieldy number of documents to a number easily handled by the defense team. Within a brief time, the most capable volunteers will be identified and encouraged, while the incapable, demented, and lefty infiltrators would be weeded out. After the first run-through, the remaining documents would be sent to the volunteers who have proven themselves the most capable and perceptive for a second reading. The documents that remain – a manageable fraction of that 12.8 million – would be turned over to the defense team.


This could be handled by Trump’s organization, starting with an appeal for volunteers using social media. This process would take weeks at most, and act as an end run against both the DoJ’s sleazy tactics and Judge Chutkan’s lack of interest in judicial balance.

Here as elsewhere the MAGA movement provided a vast and useful potential resource. Use it.

Would you volunteer as part of this team?
Adams E2 Euphonium, built in 2017
Boosey & Co. Imperial Euphonium, built in 1941
Edwards B454 bass trombone, built 2012
Bach Stradivarius 42OG tenor trombone, built 1992
Kanstul 33-T BBb tuba, built 2011
Fender Precision Bass Guitar, built ?
Mouthpiece data provided on request.

Offline Ptarmigan

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Re: Stories & Opinions Worth Knowing but Maybe Not Quite Threadworthy 9/4
« Reply #4 on: September 04, 2023, 08:46:54 PM »
New York City will be using police drones on Labor Day to make sure the peasants aren't holding large parties in their backyards

https://notthebee.com/article/new-york-city-will-be-using-police-drones-on-labor-day-to-make-sure-the-peasants-arent-holding-large-parties-in-their-backyards

I can well imagine Eric Adams calling out SWAT units to stage pre-dawn raids. Maybe, with luck, he'll run out of jail space.

New York City has gone downhill. They cannot even deal with the illegal immigrants in the city.
« Last Edit: September 04, 2023, 08:50:39 PM by Ptarmigan »
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